Theater mines its New York connection.

Byline: Paul Denison The Register-Guard

Three one-act plays by New York playwrights and one by Eugene playwright Bjo Ashwill have been selected for the second annual East Coast-West Coast One-Act Festival presented by Actors Cabaret of Eugene.

The plays will be presented at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday in the Actors Cabaret Annex, 39 W. 10th Ave.

Many of them have already gone through a development process including public readings and discussions, rewrites and showcase performances at Actors Cabaret's sister theater, the WorkShop Theater of New York City.

``The WorkShop Theater has developed one of the finest programs in the nation for developing new works for the theater,'' Actors Cabaret's Jim Roberts says, adding that both theaters are dedicated to developing and presenting plays. "We're working with local writers to create new works that will have a life beyond a local reading."

Here's the line-up:

"Behind Every Great Man" by Doug Stone.

Venomous, hysterical to dead drunk, three wives of best-selling authors threaten to shatter a new wife's hopes and dreams at the annual Cloverleaf Awards Ceremony.

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Maggie Tryk directs a cast that consists of Cynthia Gomez, Moriah Shanahan, Katie McClatchey and Alexis Smith.

"Dates Are an Ugly Sweet Fruit" by Ashwill.

An overbearing friend drags a woman in a wheelchair to a singles club where things get crazier and crazier as the night goes on. It's described as a tragicomedy "about life and death through the eyes of people who are looking for love."

Katie McClatchey directs. The cast consists of Pat Morse, Cara Maltz, Jonathan Beedle, Dale Flynn, Dillan Flynn and Colin Gray.

"The Right Sensation" by Rich Orloff.

A man and a woman who have built walls up around themselves meet while drinking and go to her place, where the past catches up with them and the walls come tumbling down.

George Morse directs Bruce McArthur and Cara Maltz.

"Settling the Score" by Raymond Alvin.

Forty years after an incident that took place during a day camp softball game, two rivals meet in an unlikely place, where they dig up the bitter past and try to decide what to make of it. Colin Gray directs Jason Darcy, Cynthia J. Gomez and Dale Flynn.

Admission is $6. To reserve tickets, call 683-4368 or go to www.actorscabaret.org. The Actors Cabaret box office at 996 Willamette St. is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

CAPTION(S):

Director Maggie Tryk (second from left) works on a scene with Cynthia Gomez (left), Alexis Smith and Katie McClatchey in the one act play "Behind Every Great Man," part of Actors Cabaret of Eugene's East Coast-West Coast One-Act Festival.